Recent progress in fabrications, properties and applications of multifunctional conductive hydrogels

Abstract

Recently, conductive hydrogels have attracted wide attention in the numerous fields such as wearable devices, intelligent actuators, soft robots, energy storage, etc. Compared to single-functional conductive hydrogels, multifunctional conductive hydrogels have unique combination of properties, making them highly versatile and valuable in practical applications. This review presents the recent advancements in multifunctional conductive hydrogels, concentrating on their preparation, properties and applications. The representative tactics to fulfill conductivity for hydrogels are firstly reviewed, and diverse conductive hydrogels are presented and discussed. Additionally, the required properties of multifunctional conductive hydrogels are demonstrated in detail, emphasizing on the properties of mechanics, anti-freezing, water retention, anti-swelling, adhesion and self-healing. Significant applications including the wearable electronics, touch panels, soft robots, supercapacitors, actuators and biomedical engineering of these conductive hydrogel-based devices assembled with various designed structures are then introduced in detail. Some perspectives on the multifunctional conductive hydrogels are also stated at the end. This review will offer an in-depth understanding of the synthesis, properties, and applications of conductive hydrogels, and will provide strategies to scholars who are interested in these areas.